Australia’s Ashes squad announcement has seemingly strengthened England’s confidence ahead of the marquee series, with the selection panel’s indecision over David Warner coming under immense scrutiny.
On Wednesday morning, Australia unveiled a 17-player squad for the World Test Championship final against India and the first two Ashes Tests, with national selectors poised to reassess the squad after the Lord’s fixture.
Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Harris earned recalls for the highly-anticipated Test series, while Queensland’s Matthew Renshaw also secured a ticket to England following a prolific Australia A tour in New Zealand.
Josh Inglis returned to the Test squad as cover for incumbent wicketkeeper Alex Carey, while Nathan Lyon’s heir apparent Todd Murphy was also selected for the tour.
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The Daily Mail’s Paul Newman claimed Cricket Australia’s decision to only pick a squad for the first three Tests of the tour was proof that selectors were “confused” and “spooked” by England’s ‘Bazball’ revolution.
“First blood to England, then,” Newman said of the “strange” call, adding the selection panel’s refusal to guarantee Warner’s spot for the Ashes series opener at Edgbaston was a “slap in the face” for the veteran opener.
“Surely Australia know what Warner can do by now,” Newman continued.
“Either they should have selected him for the full series as a destructive opener who could take England on at their new ultra-positive game or decided his woeful Ashes in 2019, when he was a walking Stuart Broad wicket and averaged just 9.5, meant he could not be picked. “By doing this they have neither backed or sacked him.”
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Former England captain Michael Atherton argued that Australia would be more “fearful” of their Ashes rivals than their last encounter 18 months ago, with England winning ten of their 12 Tests since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes were appointed as coach and captain respectively.
“Obviously Australia are really strong at home, they haven’t won in England in 20 years, so they know it is a tough place to come and win,” Atherton told Sky Sports.
“England are completely revitalised in the last 12 months under Stokes and McCullum, so they will be facing a very different England side to the one that they faced two winters ago down under when they brushed England aside.
“Australia don’t bring weak cricket teams to England, but they haven’t won here in a long time.”
Atherton also accused Australian selectors of “uncertainty” after picking four openers for the tour, with Harris and Renshaw accompanying Warner and Usman Khawaja to England.
“Listen to the sound of uncertainty emanating from the Australian selectors,” Atherton wrote in The Times.
“That the selectors are desperate for Warner to come good may be glimpsed from the identity of those in reserve.
“Whether Warner can rediscover his best form at his age is doubtful, but given the alternatives, it is not hard to see why the selectors have shown faith in him.”
Australia’s lack of bowling depth also rubbed Atherton the wrong way — the tourists flew over six strike seamers in 2019, but only four pace bowlers were named in this year’s squad, with Scott Boland the lone reserve quick.
“The five Tests come around in double-quick time, and it will be impossible, one would have thought, for either side to pick the same seam attack throughout,” Atherton penned.
“Ben Stokes has repeatedly said that he’d like eight fast bowlers to choose from. Australia have plumped for four.”
Chris Stocks of i echoed Artherton’s concerns, pointing out that Josh Hazlewood, who has played just three times since the start of 2022, is still nursing an Achilles injury.
“This will be the first time since 1997 Australia have played six Tests in an English summer so the fact that Hazlewood hasn’t played since early January thanks to an Achilles issue is a worry,” Stocks wrote.
“Although he is set to return shortly in the Indian Premier League, he will have no red-ball cricket in the build-up to the English summer and is surely unlikely to be able to play the first three of those six Tests let alone all of them.
“So while at first glance this is, to borrow a phrase from former Prime Minister Theresa May, a strong and stable Australia squad, it has enough issues to fire England’s confidence even further.”
The World Test Championship final between Australia and India gets underway at The Oval on June 7, while the first Ashes Test commences at Edgbaston on June 16.
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